Brush



S. W. SNELL May 1, 1934.,

BRUSH Filed Feb. 18, 1933 Patented May 1, 1934 PATENT orrics BRUSH Sydney William Snell, Woodford Green, England, assignor to The British Xylonite Company Limited, London, England, a company of Great Britain Application February 18, 1933, Serial No. 657,428 In Great Britain July 27, 1932 7 Claims.

The present invention relates to brushes of the kind in which the bristles are carried by a flexible support, for example, a domed rubber sheet secured at its edges to an undercut back or holder so as to leave an air cushion between the sheet and the inner surface of the holder. The object of the invention is to provide a brush of the above type in which the bristles are firmly secured in position in an improved manner without in any way restricting the flexibility of the sheet.

According to this invention each bristle or' bristle tuft is secured to the flexible support through the medium of a small socket which is carried by the flexible support and in which the end of the bristle or tuft is secured. The socket or ferrule in which the bristle or tuft is set preferably has a flanged outer end, an enlarged and conical head and a waist or reduced portion between the flange and the head. This ferrule may be sprung or forced into a perforation in the rubber or like flexible sheet forming the support so that the enlarged head projects beyond the inner surface of the sheet and the edges of the perforation embrace the waist of the ferrule and are gripped between the under surface of the head and the flange on the outer end of the ferrule.

In either case owing to the fact that the inner ends of the bristles do not move within the ferrule in which they are set and the rubber sheet is gripped between the enlarged head of the ferrule and the flange on its outer end, constant flexing of the sheet does not tend to loosen the bristles.

The particular form of the ferrule and the material from which it is made can be varied without departing from the invention and in accordance with the purpose which the brush is intended to serve but a preferred arrangement suitable to the case of hairbrushes is shown by way of example in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is an elevation of a hairbrush embodying the invention,

Figure 2 is a side view, partly in section, of the hairbrush shown in Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional View of a tuft of bristles held in position in a ferrule with the aid of a staple.

' The bristles of the brush are arranged in tufts carried by a flexible support comprising a sheet 11 of rubber or similar material which is provided with a number of perforations corresponding to the number of bristle tufts required. 'Each bristle tuft is set, as by means of a wire staple 13 of known type or by stitching or the like, into a small ferrule 12 of celluloid or other suitable moulded material, the bristles being additionally secured, if desired, by means of a suitable waterproof cement. At its open end the ferrule is provided with an outwardly extending flange 14, the inner end of the ferrule being enlarged and furnished with a conical head 15 thus leaving a groove or waist 16 between the flat underside of the head and the similar flat shoulder of the inner surface of the flange. Each ferrule after the bristles have been set in it is sprung or forced into an opening in the rubber sheet so that the conical head projects beyond the inner surface of the pad with the waist of the ferrule closely embraced by the rubber.

When the ferrules have been secured to the rubber the latter is fixed to a back or handle 17 in known manner so as to leave an air cushion between the rubber and the handle. In the example shown the handle is of sheet material bent over so as to overlie the margin of the rubber but it will be appreciated that the form of the handle and the method of securing the rubber to it may be modified as desired.

Instead of being formed of celluloid or other moulded material the ferrules may be composed of suitable metal or alloy and secured in position by a riveting action. In every case however the arrangement is such that when the rubber is flexed there is no bending of the portion of the bristle within the ferrule and consequently no tendency for the bristles to become loosened and detached.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. In a brush the combination with a flexible elastic support in sheet form of bristles and sockets each socket having secured therein at least one bristle and comprising a waist portion, an end flange and a conical inner end enabling it to be sprung or forced into a perforation in the flexible support.

2. In a brush the combination with a flexible elastic support, of bristles and sockets, each 1 socket having secured therein the inner end of at least one bristle and comprising a flange and a tapered head formed integral and having a waist between them, received in a perforation in the flexible support and retained therein by the elasticity of the support.

3. In a brush the combination with a flexible elastic support, of bristles and sockets, each socket having secured therein the inner end of at least one bristle and comprising a flange and a tapered head formed integral of moulded nonmetallic material with a waist between them, received in a perforation in the flexible support and retained therein by the elasticity of the support.

4. In a brush the combination with a. flexible elastic support, of bristles and sockets, each socket having secured therein the inner ,end of at least one bristle and comprising a flange and a tapered head formed integral of a moulded cellulose compound with a waist between them received in a perforation in the flexible support and retained therein by the elasticity of the support.

5. A brush construction comprisinga flexible perforated elastic support, sockets each adapted to carry one or more bristles associated with said support, each socket including a waist portion with an integrally formed head at one end, and a socket portion at the other end adapted'to receive at least one bristle, said sockets being inserted in the perforations in the flexible support and retained therein by the elasticity of the support.

6. For a brush in which the bristles are secured in a plurality of small sockets each sprung into one of a plurality of perforations in a flexible resilient support, the combination with a socket formed .with unitary end flanges and a central waist portion, of at least one bristle secured therein.

7. For a brush in which the bristles are secured in a plurality of small sockets each sprung intolone of aiplurality of perforations in a flexible resilient support, a socket formed with a constricted waist to be embraced by the margins of the perforation, andhaving a flange at one end, anda conical head at the other end to guide the socket into and hold it in said perforation, and a closed ended bore to receive bristle ends.

SYDNEY WILLiAM SNELL. 

